Springfield, OH – The Wittenberg men's basketball team returned to Pam Evans Smith Arena for North Coast Athletic Conference action on Monday evening, hosting the Oberlin College Yeomen. The Tigers held onto the wire-to-wire lead, defeating the Yeomen 77-75. It was another career-night for Springfield native Josh Tolliver, finishing with 20 points on 9 of 16 shooting, adding five rebounds to his total on the night. Levi Boettcher was one-point shy of matching his season-high, finishing with 17 converting on 5 of 11 from the floor. Boettcher and Jeff Queen were each a clean 6 of 6 from the foul line for the Tigers. Queen was the final Tiger scorer in double figures, finishing with 13 points.

The Tigers came out of the gate hot, putting together a 70 percent shooting clip through the first 10 minutes of action and jumping out to a 20-11 lead over the Yeomen. Holding a 38-29 advantage at the half, Tolliver with 12 points, converted on 5 of 7 attempts from the field and 2 of 3 from deep range. Wittenberg won the battle down low, outscoring Oberlin 16-8 on points in the paint through the first 20-minutes of action. Tre Johnson made his presence known, scoring four points for the Red and White and hauled in four rebounds at the break.

Wittenberg extended their lead out to as many as 13 in the second half, before Oberlin fought back late in the half. The Tigers put together a 50 percent shooting clip in the second half, converting on 15 of 30 attempts from the floor through the final 20 minutes. The Red and White saw great support from the Tigers in reserve, as the Wittenberg bench outscored Oberlin 32-18.

NCAC LEADERS

Boettcher has worked his way into the Top 20 in the NCAC in rebounds, averaging 5.5 per contest. Shooting just over 51 percent in 10 games this season, Tolliver has secured his spot in the Top 10 in the NCAC for field goals. Ridge Young continues to hold strong as a top two three-point shooter in the league, converting on 44 percent from beyond the arc.

UP NEXT

Wittenberg will return to action from Pam Evans Smith Arena, hosting NCAC foe Allegheny College on Wednesday, January 5 at 5:00 PM.